[amyr]

I have been on my period now since may 24, I am very tender in my lower abdomen & I have been laid off of my job of 5 years so no insurance.... has anyone else experienced this & have any words of wisdom???

[Hopeless Dork]

You really should try to find a low cost clinic, heavy periods, periods lasting a long time (I had one that went several months) can lead to anemia (which mine did) you will need to get your blood tested to see if this is the case. Several things can cause a period to start and not stop and you will need to be in touch with a doctor asap.

[amyr]

so what will they do?? what all kinds of tests? what happened with you?

[WildChild]

How old are you? How regular are you usually? Do you have a county health service in your area?

Stress can do all sorts of strange things to us. There is plenty of stress to go around lately. Exersize and a healthy diet never go amiss. I had all sorts of trouble with bleeding last year but am over 50 and just before I lost insurance coverage, got in for a D&C and ablation. That seems to have resolved my problem. The doctor told me that more than my 'time of life' she thought it was stress

[Hopeless Dork]

For me, they couldn't figure out what was causing it, they were going to do a D&C , talked about a hormonal IUD, and worst case would need to perform a hysterectomy to get my bleeding to stop. I had to be put on medicine for my anemia and have it watched closely- it can lead to a number of health problems if you don't have it under control, I came close to needing a blood transfusion but ended up getting better before that happened.

I started to diet and exercise, I was scared of all the treatments they had in mind for me and as I lost weight my period slowed and finally went back to normal after I had lost over 50 pounds. Later my doc said it might have been all my extra weight throwing my hormones off.

[WildChild]

Good point that fat can mess you up and eating certain foods can too, they can act as artificial receptors.

[amyr]

yeah we have a county hospital, I need to go & get classified it's about a three month process. I am 36 I have had 4 babies, my periods have always been rough, as far as cramps but pretty normal as far as time between. But this last year it's gotten worse, for about 3 months I was bleeding every two weeks for about 7 days three days was VERY heavy & I was taking 8 advil every 4 hours for pain. but then it all straightened out when I was laid off so I thought YAY... and then my mom passed away from COPD april 14, and now this and thers not much pain which is wierd for me because I have always had alot of pain with my cycles. Mom had a hysterectomy (sp?) at like 36 or 37 because she couldnt stop bleeding.... thats all I knew about it, heck now she's not here for me to ask, which makes me cry everytime I think about it. so yeah it could be stress. but it could be more. IDK, I have alot going on inside my head & with my emotions right now so maybe a combination of all of it.

[amyr]

I have joined a gym & started working out & eating better, I havent noticed any difference in felling any better & actually gained 6 pounds... I think I am just falling apart.... lol

[Hopeless Dork]

Its common for people to put weight on that you see on a scale when you first start working out, especially if you havent done so in a long time. Your muscles and joints and all that can retain fluids and it can make the scale tip in the wrong direction (although your getting smaller) til your body adjusts.

The more weight you have the more it throws off the hormones, there is a hormone that starts a period and one that stops it, when the wires cross it doesn't know when to stop. Please watch out for the anemia symptoms, I am not sure of all of them but I remember when I got diagnosed my doctor told me to hit the ER if I became short of breath, lips turning blue (cyanotic), become very pale.

They gave me iron pills to help get mine straight but iron, while available over the counter, etc.. is not something to take unless a doctor determains you need it through blood tests because too much iron can cause harm to the body as much as not enough.

You really will need to be seen before 3 months, is there any clinics in the area that take sliding scale fee's etc, any that you could possibly make payments on? Your health is so very important and bleeding severely beyond a period is so dangerous without being in a doctors care. I hope you can find a way to get seen. Gosh our medical system is awful.

[WildChild]

Liquid chlorophyl can be a good source of absorbable iron and it has the added benefit of act as an internal deodorizer, so stay sweeter smelling while working up a sweat.